Mixed-Arab paramilitaries and militias commit genocide in West Darfur

Описание: Eyewitnesses say that several thousand mixed-Arab members of the Sudanese paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and militias have conducted summary executions on African men of the Masalit ethnic group who are members of a self-defense force in West Darfur. The mixed-Arabs are reported to have raped and killed women and children in the process. According to AP, the RSF and militias surrounded the town of Misterei on May 28, 2023, armed with rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, and vehicle-mounted machine guns, killed Masalit men who were in houses or hiding and civilian women and children as they ran away. The mixed-Arabs looted the homes and livestock of the victims before burning the town to the ground. According to the BBC, 37 bodies were buried on June 20 while another 50 were buried the next day in the nearby town of El Geneina. An eyewitness said the bodies had been rotting in the streets. People from the community were forced to bury the victims in a mass grave. As per the BBC, the governor of West Darfur was killed last month when he accused the RSF of committing genocide against the Masalit. The civil war between the Sudanese army and the RSF began in the capital Khartoum on April 15, 2023, and later spread to other parts of Sudan, including West Darfur. Eyewitnesses say the RSF and allied militias have forced tens of thousands of Masalit to flee to neighboring Chad.